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George William JONES

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George William JONES

NSW Police Force

East Maitland

89 old

3 September 2013

George William JONES
George William JONES
George William JONES an old school cop
George William JONES
an old school cop

 

 

 

HE was from the old school breed of cops, a senior constable who had the respect of the public and would rather help people than lock them up.

George William Jones was possibly best known for his involvement in the pursuit of two of the nation’s most notorious killers – Allan Baker and Kevin Crump – convicted of the 1973 murders of Ian Lamb and Virginia Morse.

On that day in November, Senior Constable Jones was a passenger in a police car with his partner Senior Constable John Millward.

The pair were in a high speed pursuit of two armed criminals – Baker and Crump – travelling in a stolen car when Baker began firing shots at them from a .308 calibre rifle.

A bullet from the rifle shattered the police car windscreen, hitting Senior Constable Millward in the forehead.

Senior Constable Jones took his partner to hospital before rejoining the pursuit.

Baker and Crump were captured on the banks of the Paterson River at Woodville a few hours later after a dramatic shoot-out.

For his efforts, Mr Jones received a Queen’s Commendation for bravery and a Commissioner’s Commendation for his outstanding courage and devotion to duty.

This high profile case led Mr Jones to become a household name across the country.

But according to his family, Mr Jones was regularly having guns pointed at him by desperate criminals.

“He didn’t back down from a fight, he was a courageous guy,” Mr Jones’s son Mark said.

“There were other occasions he had guns pulled on him and the like and there was a bloke who he was trying to get into the cells who rammed his face into the lock on the door.

“He copped a few hidings but the interesting thing was, often we would be out somewhere and someone would come up and shake his hand and chat with him and when he left Dad would say ‘I locked him up once’.

“How he looked after people and the way he treated them made people like him regardless of what side of the law he was on – he was a fair and honest copper and well respected.”

Born on July 31, 1924, in Dudley, Mr Jones lived in Weston until he enlisted in the RAAF on November, 1942, as a leading aircraftman.

He fought in New Guinea and was discharged in April, 1948, before launching a 31-year career in the NSW police force.

Mr Jones was stationed in Sydney, Broken Hill and for the last 17 years of his service was a senior constable at Maitland.

After his retirement, Mr Jones worked at Tocal College as the afternoon supervisor for 15 years.

He married Margaret in Sydney in 1960 and had three children – Robyn, Bryan and Mark – and seven grandchildren.

Mr Jones’s daughter Robyn said her father had a lot to do with Maitland PCYC.

“He used to take drunk drivers home and young kids as well who were on the streets,” she said.

“There was a lot of respect for police back then and Dad wanted people to not dislike or fear the police.

“He had been shot at heaps of times and had a few close shaves but he wouldn’t tell you many stories because he didn’t like to brag.

“The big one was Baker and Crump, that’s what he got the bravery awards for, but he did heaps of other things that weren’t acknowledged.

“He was a good dad.”

Friends and family attended a moving funeral service at East Maitland Presbyterian on September 6.

 

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1793502/obituary-george-william-jones/?cs

 

 

Obituary: old-school cop George William Jones

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